Liu Wei Di Huang Wan: A Classic TCM Formula for Kidney and Liver Yin Nourishment
Health Lab- Sep 14, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: May 9
Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, a cornerstone of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is a gentle yet powerful formula designed to nourish kidney and liver yin, restore vitality, and balance the body.
Originating from Qian Yi’s Xiao Er Yao Zheng Zhi Jue in the Song Dynasty, this time-honored prescription is one of TCM’s most famous tonics for addressing yin deficiency. Its carefully selected herbs reflect ancient wisdom, offering a natural solution for modern-day issues like fatigue, lower back pain, and aging-related symptoms.
Origins and Background of Liu Wei Di Huang Wan
Developed by Qian Yi, a renowned pediatrician, Liu Wei Di Huang Wan was initially crafted to treat developmental issues in children caused by kidney yin deficiency. Over time, its applications expanded to adults, becoming a foundational formula for nourishing yin and supporting overall health.
In an era when chronic depletion and environmental stressors were common, this formula became a vital tool for longevity and resilience. Its focus on the kidneys—the root of yin and essence—makes it a versatile remedy for today’s health challenges.
Ingredients and Their Benefits
Liu Wei Di Huang Wan combines six herbs, each contributing to its yin-nourishing and balancing effects:
Rehmannia Root (Shu Di Huang): Sweet and warm, rehmannia enriches kidney yin, nourishes blood, and supports vitality and essence.
Cornus Fruit (Shan Zhu Yu): Sour and warm, cornus strengthens the liver and kidneys, secures essence, and prevents leakage.
Yam (Shan Yao): Neutral and sweet, yam nourishes the spleen and kidneys, supports digestion, and boosts energy.
Poria (Fu Ling): Mild and sweet, poria fortifies the spleen, clears dampness, and calms the mind.
Alisma (Ze Xie): Cool and sweet, alisma drains dampness, clears kidney heat, and promotes healthy urination.
Moutan Bark (Mu Dan Pi): Cool and bitter, moutan bark clears heat, cools blood, and balances the formula’s warmth.
Together, these herbs replenish kidney and liver yin, support spleen function, and promote overall harmony.
Benefits and Conditions Treated
Liu Wei Di Huang Wan excels at treating kidney and liver yin deficiency, a condition marked by symptoms like fatigue, dryness, or weak lower back.
It’s ideal for those feeling depleted or experiencing age-related decline. Its key effects include:
Nourishing Kidney Yin: It replenishes yin to address fatigue, lower back pain, or dizziness.
Supporting Liver Health: It nourishes liver yin, improving vision and emotional balance.
Strengthening Vitality: It boosts essence, enhancing longevity and resilience.
Clearing Mild Heat: It balances internal warmth, easing symptoms like dry mouth or night sweats.
Common Symptoms
This formula is ideal for:
Lower back pain, weak knees, or fatigue.
Dizziness, tinnitus, or blurred vision.
Dry mouth, throat, or skin.
Night sweats, insomnia, or mild heat sensations.
Pale or red tongue with little coating and a thin, weak pulse.
Practical Applications
Kidney Yin Deficiency: Liu Wei Di Huang Wan supports weak lower back, knees, or fatigue due to yin depletion.
Aging-Related Issues: It addresses symptoms like tinnitus, hair loss, or weakened vitality in older adults.
Vision and Emotional Health: It improves blurred vision or irritability linked to liver yin deficiency.
Clinical Uses
Liu Wei Di Huang Wan is used for:
Kidney yin deficiency with symptoms like lower back pain or tinnitus.
Age-related conditions such as osteoporosis or hair loss.
Menopausal symptoms like mild night sweats or dryness.
Chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, or hyperthyroidism with yin deficiency.
Eye disorders like blurred vision or dry eyes.
Pediatric developmental delays due to kidney weakness.
Modern research supports its benefits: rehmannia and cornus nourish yin and support metabolism, yam aids digestion, and moutan bark has anti-inflammatory effects, making this formula a versatile tonic for vitality and balance.
Dietary Support
Pairing Liu Wei Di Huang Wan with nourishing recipes can enhance its yin-replenishing and spleen-supporting effects:
Wolfberry Porridge
Ingredients: 10g wolfberries, 100g rice.
Method: Boil wolfberries and rice in water until soft, serve warm.
Benefits: Nourishes kidney and liver yin.
Lotus Seed Soup
Ingredients: 20g lotus seeds, 1 yam, sliced.
Method: Boil lotus seeds and yam in water until tender, season lightly.
Benefits: Supports spleen and kidney health.
Black Sesame Porridge
Ingredients: 20g black sesame seeds, 100g rice.
Method: Grind sesame seeds, boil with rice in water until soft, serve warm.
Benefits: Nourishes yin and strengthens kidneys.
Mulberry Tea
Ingredients: 10g dried mulberries.
Method: Steep in boiling water for 5 minutes, drink warm.
Benefits: Nourishes blood and supports liver yin.
Massage Support
Massage can complement Liu Wei Di Huang Wan by promoting kidney function and yin nourishment:
Taixi Point: On the inner ankle, in the depression behind the bone. Massage for 5 minutes to nourish kidney yin.
Shenshu Point: On the lower back, below the second lumbar vertebra. Massage for 5 minutes to strengthen kidney qi.
Yongquan Point: On the sole of the foot, in the center. Massage for 5 minutes to ground energy and support kidneys.
Sanyinjiao Point: Three inches above the inner ankle. Massage for 5 minutes to nourish yin and support the liver.
Precautions
Liu Wei Di Huang Wan is gentle but requires caution:
Avoid in Spleen Deficiency: If you have loose stools, bloating, or poor appetite, consult a practitioner, as it may worsen dampness.
Pregnant Women: Use only under medical guidance due to its yin-nourishing and blood-moving effects.
Excess Heat or Cold: Avoid if you have high fever, red tongue, or cold limbs, as it may not suit your condition.
Medical Supervision: Always follow a TCM practitioner’s advice for safe use.
Conclusion
Liu Wei Di Huang Wan is a TCM treasure, blending rehmannia, cornus, and moutan bark to nourish kidney and liver yin, restore vitality, and promote balance. Perfect for fatigue, lower back pain, or aging-related symptoms, this formula offers gentle support.
Enhance its effects with wolfberry porridge or mulberry tea, and consult a TCM practitioner for personalized guidance. Let this ancient remedy bring strength and harmony to your modern life.
Chinese Name | 六味地黃丸 |
Phonetic | Liu Wei Di Huang Wan |
English Name | Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill |
Classification | Tonic formulas |
Source | 《Key to Diagnosis and Treatment of Children’s Diseases》Xiao er Yao Zheng Zhi Jue《小兒藥證直訣》 |
Combination | Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata (Shu Di Huang) 8 qian (24g), Corni Fructus (Shan Zhu Yu) 4 qian (12g), Dioscoreae Rhizoma (Shan Yao) 4 qian (12g), Alismatis Rhizoma (Ze Xie) 3 qian (9g), Moutan Cortex (Mu Dan Pi) 3 qian (9g), Poria (Fu Ling) 3 qian (9g) |
Method | Grind the ingredients into powder and form into pills the size of a phoenix tree seed using honey. Three pills are taken before meals with warm water. It can also be prepared as a decoction. |
Action | Supplements and nourishes the liver and kidney. |
Indication | Liu Wei Di Huang Wan is indicated for liver-kidney yin deficiency. The symptoms are soreness of the waist and knees, dizziness, tinnitus, deafness, night sweat, seminal emission, xiao ke (wasting-thirst), steaming bone fever, feverish feeling in the palms and soles, a dry mouth and throat, loosening of the teeth, heel pain, dribbling of urine, and unclosed fontanel in children. The tongue is red with scanty coating and the pulse is deep, thready, and rapid. |
Pathogenesis | The kidney stores the essence and is considered to be the foundation of the congenital (prenatal) constitution. The liver stores the blood. Essence and blood can convert into each other. Therefore, yin and blood deficiency of the liver and kidney will usually interact with each other. The lumbus is the house of the kidney, which governs bone and generates marrow. The teeth are the surplus of the bones and the knees are the house of the sinews. Therefore, kidney yin deficiency leads to an insufficiency of bone marrow, which causes soreness of the waist and knees and loosening of the teeth. The brain is the sea of marrow. Kidney yin deficiency fails to generate the marrow needed to replenish the brain. Deficient liver blood fails to supplement the brain and the eyes causing dizziness. The kidney opens its orifice into the ears. Deficient kidney yin is unable to supplement the upper part of the body. Also, deficient heat may affect the clear orifices and cause tinnitus and deafness. The kidney stores the essence. Kidney yin deficiency causes seminal emission due to ministerial fire disturbing the essence chamber. Yin deficiency generates internal heat, or may even cause deficiency fire to flame upward. The symptoms present as steaming bone fever, xiao ke, night sweat, dribbling of urine, a red tongue with scanty coating, and a deep, thready, and rapid pulse. The failure of the fontanel to close in children is caused by slow bone growth due to kidney deficiency. The therapeutic principles used to remedy this pattern are to supplement liver-kidney yin, clear deficiency-heat, and drain damp-turbidity. |
Application | 1. Essential pattern differentiation Liu Wei Di Huang Wan is a commonly used formula applicable to liver-kidney yin deficiency. It is inappropriate for patients suffering diarrhea due to spleen deficiency.This clinical pattern is marked by soreness of the waist and knees, dizziness, dry mouth and throat, red tongue with scanty coating, deep, thready, and rapid pulse. 2. Modern applications Liu Wei Di Huang Wan may be used in the following biomedically defined disorders when the patient shows signs of kidney yin deficiency: chronic nephritis, hypertension, diabetes, pulmonary tuberculosis, nephrotuberculosis, hyperthyroidism, central retinitis, anovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and menopausal syndrome. 3. Cautions and contraindications Use with caution in patients with diarrhea due to spleen deficiency. |
Additonal formulae | 1. Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan (Anemarrhena, Phellodendron and Rehmannia Pill 知柏地黃丸) [Source]《Investigations of Medical Formulas》Yi Fang Kao《醫方考》 [Ingredients] Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, zhi mu (salt prepared) 2 qian (6g), huang bai (salt prepared) 2 qian (6g) [Preparation and Administration] Grind the ingredients into powder and form into pills the size of a phoenix tree seed using honey. 2 qian (6g) are taken before meals with warm water. [Actions] Enriches yin and subdues fire. [Applicable Patterns] Liver-kidney yin deficiency complicated by deficiency-fire flaming upward. Symptoms include: dizziness, tinnitus and deafness, toothache due to deficiency-fire, vexing heat in the five centers, soreness of waist and knees, blood strangury and odynuria, seminal emission, steaming bone fever and night sweat, hectic malar flush and warmth, a dry mouth and throat, a red tongue, and a thready, rapid pulse. 2. Qi Ju Di Huang Wan (Lycium Berry, Chrysanthemum and Rehmannia Pill 杞菊地黃丸) [Source]《Complete Treatise on Measles》Ma Zhen Quan Shu《麻疹全書》 [Ingredients] Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, gou qi zi 3 qian (9g), ju hua 3 qian (9g) [Preparation and Administration] Grind the ingredients into powder and form into pills the size of a phoenix tree seed using honey. 3 qian (9g) are taken before meals with warm water. [Actions] Supplements the kidney and liver and improves vision. [Applicable Patterns] Liver-kidney yin deficiency. Symptoms include: blurred vision, dry eyes, and epiphora induced by wind. 3. Mai Wei Di Huang Wan (Ophiopogon, Schisandra and Rehmannia Pill 麥味地黃丸) [Source]《Complete Records of Medical Work quoted from A Compilation of Benevolent Formulas》Yi Bu Quan Lu‧Ti Ren Hui Bian《醫部全錄‧體仁彙編》 [Ingredients] Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, mai dong 5 qian (15g), wu wei zi 5 qian (15g) [Actions] Supplements the lung and kidney. [Applicable Patterns] Lung-kidney yin deficiency. Symptoms include: vexation, cough, hematemesis, tidal fever, and night sweat 4. Du Qi Wan (Qi-Restraining Pill 都氣丸) [Source]《Symptoms, Causes, Pulses, and Treatment》Zheng Yin Mai Zhi《證因脈治》 [Ingredients] Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, wu wei zi 2 qian (6g) [Preparation and Administration] Grind the ingredients into powder and form into pills the size of a phoenix tree seed using honey. 2 qian (6g) are taken before meals with warm water. [Actions] Supplements the kidney to improve qi reception. [Applicable Patterns] Lung and kidney deficiency. Symptoms include: cough, panting, hiccup, spontaneous seminal emission, and lumbar pain. |
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